CAR CULTUREThe Car as a Sculpture

It is considered the human's favorite toy – the automobile. As a cult object and symbol of individual freedom, it epitomizes mobility and expresses lifestyle and luxury. At the same time, the car stands for the endangerment of our planet: exploitation of resources, environmental destruction, traffic gridlock, accidents. And at the practical level of everyday life: trouble with finding parking spaces, costly mechanics' hours, tailgaters on the motorway, the rising cost of fuel. Then again the pleasure of a new car: Let's go! The automobile remains persistently attractive. How long can that continue to work?, we wonder worriedly – and get into the car.

An object that plays such an important role in the life of the individual as well as in technical, economic, aesthetic, and urban and traffic planning contexts must inevitably interest artists. As Wolf Vostell said in 1969: "The car is the sculpture of the 20th century."
Up the the present, an astonishingly large number of artists devote their attention to the car: affectionately, critically, intelligently, ironically.

The large exhibition hall of the museum becomes a parking lot, where artistic vehicles are gathered. Charged luxury objects like a Porsche and Ferrari are irreverently treated and divested of their qualities, only to be resurrected as dysfunctional doppelgangers. The roles of iconic models relevant to the history of society, such as "Trabbi", VW Bug or Mercedes-Benz, are illuminated, while playful alterations of utility vehicles make hidden connotations obvious.
The exhibition shows the social, artistic and economic relevance of the cult of the automobile from artistic perspectives – critically, surprisingly and entertainingly.